In whitetail country, groups of hunters sometimes put on a deer drive as a hunting strategy to get deer moving. This isn’t as common as it used to be, but it can be very effective. Drives can be very simple, with only a few people, or more elaborate, with a dozen or more hunters involved. No matter the size, the basic premise is the same.
How Deer Drives Work
In a drive, you’ll have one of two jobs: “driver” or “poster/stander.” Drivers walk and posters sit still and wait. If there are only a few people involved, and if the travel path allows for the drivers to have safe shooting lanes, drivers might carry guns. In most cases, they do not, and the more people involved, the less likely it is that drivers will be able to shoot safely.
Note the shooting lanes of each stander on this drive—no one is taking shots in the direction of the drivers’ paths or of other standers.
Map courtesy of hunter-ed.com.
It’s very important that a plan be in place so everyone knows where they’re supposed to be at all times and what they’re supposed to be doing, and so the standers know where their safe shooting lanes are. Once you have a plan and a basic map (even if it’s in your heads) of where everyone is and will be going, the drivers will start slowly moving through their designated paths. The goal is to make deer move but not to spook them so much that they run—no one wants to shoot at running game. You want to disturb the deer just enough that they decide to get out of their bed and walk somewhere else. Hopefully, that will send them walking past one of the standers, who can take a safe shot.
Some drivers like to make a lot of noise on a drive, thinking it bumps deer more effectively, but I tend to be quieter. Again, I don’t want to spook deer into running to the next county; I want them to be annoyed, not alarmed. If you move slowly, especially if you play the wind right, your scent and your presence will often be enough to get a deer off its feet and moving.
Deer Drive Safety Tips
First, the plan is sacrosanct—absolutely no going off script or deviating from your assigned path or shooting lane. Second, everyone should be wearing plenty of hunter orange for safety; a hat and vest is the bare minimum, in my opinion, even if your state’s legal requirements are less.
Drivers should stay within sight of each other as much as possible. You don’t want your drivers too close, because they’ll cover less ground if they’re clustered together, but you also don’t want them so far apart that they lose track of each other. Drivers should proceed at the same pace, so no one gets ahead of the others; this is absolutely vital if it’s set up in a way that your drivers are carrying guns.
If the cover is so thick that drivers can’t see each other—such as when you’re driving through a field of standing corn—then some noise is a good idea so you can keep track of where the drivers next to you are.
Generally, depending on the map/plan, standers will not shoot at deer coming toward them, because they’ll be coming from the direction of the drivers. Standers will only shoot at deer that have walked past them and are now moving away from everyone else. Emphasize this point when you are laying out safe shooting lanes in your pre-drive plan.
Shot opportunities pop up quickly and are often gone in moments, as the deer will likely still be on the move. Standers must stay alert and ready to shoot, and again, they must always be mindful of their safe shooting lanes. They also must agree to stay put in their designated spot for safety.
It helps if you have a way to communicate with each other (like texting), as long as your state doesn’t have laws about electronic communication while hunting. This way, drivers can let the whole team know when they’ve reached the end of their path, even though standers might sit for a while afterward to catch any slow-moving deer that might have gotten roused earlier. It also lets anyone call off the drive if needed or alert the team to an unexpected obstacle, like the presence of another hunter on public land. The possibility of encountering or being interrupted by another hunter who has no idea what you’re doing is a major point in favor of restricting your deer drives to private land.
Mossberg Patriot rifle
Deer Drive Guns
Any kind of legal hunting gun can work for a deer drive, but some are better than others. Shot opportunities are likely to be quick and relatively close, so you don’t need a long-range rifle caliber and you won’t want a lot of magnification in your scope, if you’re even using one. Iron sights will probably work just fine and might even be better.
In the olden days when shooting at running game was more common than it is now, many drivers and standers liked shotguns for a deer drive, shooting buckshot for running deer or heavy slugs for brush-busting performance and decreased range. Slug guns still work well for standers.
Because deer drives often take place in areas with thick cover, traditional brush-busting bullets and chamberings are popular: slug guns, as mentioned, as well as the .30-30 Win, the 350 Legend and other slower-moving rifle cartridges.
Wrapping It Up
Deer drives can be really effective, but they have to be done properly with a solid plan in order to have the best chance of success. Safety is the top priority, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to follow the plan and stick to the rules to make it a safe event. When it’s done well, a drive is a great way to get deer up and moving out of cover and, hopefully, offering a shot opportunity.
